Law School Announces New Faculty Appointments

April 19, 2012

Resident Faculty

One of the nation’s leading U.S. bankruptcy judges, the Honorable Samuel L. Bufford is joining the Penn State Law faculty. He served in the Central District of California for twenty-five years presiding over more than 100,000 cases. Judge Bufford is also widely regarded as one of the foremost scholars of U.S. and comparative insolvency law. He is the author of United States International Insolvency Law published last year by Oxford Press. Judge Bufford previously served as the Nomura Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School and as a lecturer in law at the University of Southern California Law Center. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Adam I. Muchmore joins Penn State Law from the University of Chicago Law School where he was a Bigelow Teaching Fellow. After graduation from Yale Law School, he served as a law clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. His research focuses on the tradeoffs between alternative approaches to government regulation. His substantive emphasis is on food and drug law and the regulation of international business. Professor Muchmore will teach Civil Procedure and Conflict of Laws.

2010 Shughart Scholars

In honor of Dale Shughart, Jr. a committed alumnus and dedicated friend, the Law School has established the Shughart Scholars program this year. Each year, the Law School will welcome as visiting assistant professors a small group of scholars of exceptional accomplishment and promise.

Jason Bent focuses his scholarship on labor and employment law, including systemic theories of employment discrimination. Professor Bent’s most recent article examines how certain methods of interpreting statistical data can help resolve some particularly troubling issues in systemic employment discrimination cases. Prior to joining Penn State Law, Professor Bent was principal and shareholder of Smith & Bent, P.C., an environmental and employment litigation practice in Chicago, IL. He earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Charles Keckler’s research centers on reforms to the litigation system, empirical studies of the judicial process, and how best to strengthen civil society. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama appointed Professor Keckler to the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation. Before joining Penn State Law, Professor Keckler was a deputy assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He will teach Civil Procedure and Evidence. He holds a J.D. and M.A. from the University of Michigan.

Combining her law and medical backgrounds, Anna Laakmann’s research explores the ways in which the patent, regulatory, and tort systems interact to impact scientific research, health care markets, the practice of medicine, and population health. Her forthcoming article proposes that the FDA should formally recognize the blurred line between investigational and standard therapy by adopting a more fluid approach to its review of new medical technologies. She will teach Torts and Health Law and Policy II: Public Health and Bioethics. Professor Laakmann comes to Penn State Law with a J.D. from Stanford Law School and an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Julia Leefocuses her research on banking and securities regulation and administrative law. She is particularly interested in studying financial services regulation from a historical and social science perspective. Professor Lee will be teaching Payment Systems. Prior to joining Penn State Law, she was a senior regional attorney with the FDIC in Chicago, where she supervised troubled banks and conducted prohibition and removal actions against bank officers and directors. Her J.D. is from Yale Law School.

Derek Muller focuses his research on procedure, election law and constitutional law issues. Professor Muller will teach Civil Procedure and Federal Courts. Prior to joining Penn State Law, he worked as a litigation associate in the Chicago, Illinois office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he focused his practice on contract disputes, white collar criminal defense, and appellate litigation. He received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.